Raw Linzer Heart Cookies and Raspberry Chia Jam

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Raw Linzer Heart Cookies and Raspberry Chia Jam

Oh hey: a sweet treat in time for February 14th! Given how routine my eats have been lately (soup, salad, grain, repeat), it was fun to create something a little festive this past weekend. In spite of being no bake, these raw, vegan linzer heart cookies certainly demand a little more time and effort than the desserts I usually make. But they’re so darn cute, it’s hard not to relish breaking out the cookie cutters anyway.

The first step to creating these cookies is, if you like, to make the raspberry chia jam I filled them with. I say “if you like” because it would be totally fine to use your favorite store bought (or regular homemade) jam instead. I got a kick out of making this jam, and pleased to find that it was easier than I expected, but it’s definitely more tart, and a little less thick, than traditional jam. Give it a try, though, if you’re so inclined; I think it would be great on toast, or stirred into a bowl of hot oats.

1. Blend the raspberries and dates in a high speed blender till smooth.

2. Transfer the mixture to a container. Stir in 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Let sit for a few minutes, and then stir again, and a few minutes after that. Let jam thicken in the fridge for a few hours before using, and add more chia seeds as needed.

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Once you’ve got this part out of the way, you just need to prep the raw “cookie dough.” Like most of my raw desserts, I used a base of nuts and dates, including hazelnuts for authenticity. But I added some almond flour, too, which worked nicely for the recipe. If you don’t have it, you can substitute whole almonds, and grind them in in step one all the same.

1. Using a food processor fitted with the S blade, grind hazelnuts into a coarse flour.

2. Add the almond flour, sea salt, and dates. Process until mixture is finely ground, even, and sticking together slightly. Add the maple syrup. When you can squeeze a bit of the mix in your hand and it sticks easily, it's ready. If you find that it's too crumbly, add a few more dates or syrup.

3. Divide the mixture in half. Lightly dust a dry surface with oat flour. Roll one half of the mixture out till it's about ¼ inch thick (or a little less). Cut it into circles or squares with a cookie cutter.

Repeat with the other half, and then use a heart cutter to cut hearts out of the center of those cookies. Transfer all of the cookies--the ones with and without heart cutouts--to the fridge and let them chill for 30 minutes.

4. Spread a dollop of raspberry jam into the center of each cookie that doesn't have a heart cutout, and then top it with a cookie that does. Repeat till you've used up all of the dough. Store cookies in the fridge till you're ready to enjoy them.

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Are they a dead ringer for the traditional cookie? Not quite. But they’re still pretty adorable:

Hope the cookies will brighten your day (or the day of whomever you share them with). I suspect there will be at least one more sweet treat in store this week. If you’re looking for a dessert or two in the meantime, feel free to try last year’s no bake tartelettes with raw chocolate ganache filling:

They are indeed chewy – the same texture of most raw pie crusts, energy balls, cookies, etc. I’d love to have made a dehydrator version and could definitely try it at some point, but since so few readers have them, I always feel better offering non-dehydrator options if they’re just as good. I’ll ponder it 🙂

This makes me really excited. I remember the first time I fell in love with linzer cookies and it was actually a raw version from One Lucky Duck. I’m very keen to have a quick and easy recipe for these. I did a baked version for Christmas a few years ago, and that was one time consuming cookie!

These are SO cute! I’ve seen things like this and I’m just so intimidated by them that I usually just keep scrolling. But this seems simple enough with the ingredients that really the only difficulty is in the cookie part .. I think I could handle that pressure because even if I screw it up all I have to do is ball it together and eat and it will still be just as delicious!

I love that raw jam. I’ve made a raw jam for a sandwich cookies recently but it used a dehydrator to thicken. This is so much better with the chia seeds. I will try this! And those cookies are beautiful.

I recently started making chia seed jams and they are so good (and easy!). I haven’t tried sweetening mine with medjool dates, but I will be sure to give that a try next time.
These cookies are so pretty. I think I need to buy a little heart cookie cutter. 🙂

Gena, this is a great recipe, thanks for sharing!:) I just adore raspberries and have yet to make raspberry chia jam, though I have NO idea why. It would make such a perfect spread over so many things, or just stirred up with a little raw almond butter for a quick snack. I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!:)

Would you believe, I have never had a linzer cookie! But these look just lovely. And I imagine if people are wanting more of that crispy texture, dehydrating what you have will work fine, especially if the jam is on the runny side.

I can’t believe all you guys know these cookies! I’m from Austria and my aunt lives in Linz 🙂 The original name is “Linzer Augen” which can be translated as Linzer eyes since the original cookies have 3 round shaped holes instead of the heart you did 🙂 I have to make these at Christmas since we always bake those (but not vegan ones, so I need to present those raw ones to my family!!) thanks a lot for the recipe <3